Here, you’ll find content about the art and practice of theatre criticism. Many pieces grapple with questions of how to diversify the field, making it more accessible for young people, queer folx, and critics of color. This section also contains all the pieces of criticism in the Journal, which we call “NewCrits.” NewCrits analyze productions and go beyond “thumbs up, thumbs down” reviews, placing the work(s) in question in a larger, broader context—whether that’s the context of the time or place it’s done in, the artists’ body of work, or its genre. Are you interested in writing a NewCrit? Check out our guidelines and best practices!
The Latest
Essay
Black Survival and Cyclical Fate in Hang Time
by Ciaran Short
4 June 2026
Essay
On a Theatrical Pilgrimage to See Carolina Bianchi and Cara de Cavalo's Chapter II: The Brotherhood
by Amanda L. Andrei
6 April 2026
Essay
How The Last Country Amplifies Stories of Immigration and Belonging in South Africa
Daphnie Sicre discusses the way that Latinidad, Blackness, and queerness intersect in “Marimacha,” comedic coming out story about an AfroPanamanian family on their way to a wedding.
Trevor Boffone reviews Tus Tías’ The Invocation of Selena, a sketch comedy and cabaret-style show that begins by summoning Latine icon Selena and ends by eulogizing her.
Recently named Edward Medina Prize winner Brittani Samuel joins Yura Sapi to share about her experience building her own table as a theatre critic. Topics in this episode include choosing joy every day, being a child of immigrants, and a shared meditation practice. This episode is dedicated to theare artist and critic Edward Medina, honoring his legacy which brings us all together today.
Jose Solís joins Yura Sapi to discuss creating the BIPOC Critics Lab and co-creating the Token Theatre Friends podcast-webseries. This episode’s topics include finding beauty in the internet, how a metaphorical grain of sand can change the world, and a tarot reading for the first three months of 2023.
Golden Thread presented the conversation NO SUMMARY: Critiquing the Critics: The Reception of MENA Productions livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network on Friday 11 November 2022 at 11 a.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC -8) / 1 p.m. CST (Chicago, UTC -6) / 2 p.m. EST (New York, UTC -5).
Theatremaker Maria Patrice Amon shares her experience watching La Carpa De La Frontera at Latinx Theatre Commons’ 2022 Comedy Carnaval and explains the significance of carpa theatre.
Talia Rodriguez details the generative process for We Are Kin to the Cove, a site-specific, community-engaged performance exploring the historical and contemporary relationships water and humanity at a cove on New York’s East River.
Melissa Lin Sturges shares her experience attending Olney Theatre Center’s bilingual production of The Music Man, which was presented in both English and American Sign Language.
Robert Hubbard discusses the South Dakota Shakespeare Festival production of Othello, which Tara Moses adapted and directed through an Indigenous Futurist lens. The resulting production employed its Shakespearean source text to model solidarity between Tribal Sovereignty and Black Liberation movements.
Educator and writer Marci McMahon reflects on her experience seeing Virginia Grise’s movement manifesto Your Healing is Killing Me at Cara Mía Theatre Co.
For artists, getting a quality review of their show is often critical to continued success. It can make or break new plays and emerging artists. However, works by BIPOC artists have often been subjected to the white critical gaze in reviews, which has frequently not made any attempt to account for the complexity of culture outside of the reviewer’s own understanding. There has been a major push by BIPOC artists to counter the white supremacy of reviews, including who writes the critiques and what they write about. In this episode, Arti Ishak and Yasmin Zacaria Mikhaiel talk about their experiences as MENA artists and critics, how they negotiate the field of criticism, and what changes can and must be made to the landscape.
When Ricky and Dana Young-Howze began reviewing digital theatre productions early in the COVID-19 pandemic, they weren’t expecting to build a tight-knit, global community. They share their journey into the digital theatre scene and reflect on what it has taught them.
A series that brings artists and community leaders together
Thursday 10 June 2021
Seattle, Washington
Seattle Rep presented (Re)Imagine Arts Criticism livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 10 June 2021 at 5 p.m. PDT (Seattle, UTC -7) / 6 p.m. MDT (Denver, UTC -6) / 7 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 8 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).
Jonathan Mandell reflects on his experience of A Dozen Dreams, an art installation that began when twelve New York City-based women playwrights were asked: “What are you dreaming about right now?”
A New Way of Performance Watching for an Old Classic
4 March 2021
Merve Parla shares her experience with Netherlands-based dance company Club Guy & Roni’s recent production of Swan Lake, an interactive experience with both offline and online components.
Caroline Sprague reflects on Shey Rivera Ríos’s recent piece, Fire Flowers and a Time Machine, transformative justice, the nonprofit industrial complex, and more.
Zeina Salame sits down for a conversation with Leila Buck and Tamilla Woodard to talk about their most recent creative collaboration, American Dreams, online audience interaction, and more.
verity healey, who spent time in Kosovo for its Theatre Showcase last October, discusses the precarious nature of Kosovo’s independent theatre sector and shares her thoughts about the plays she saw while visiting.
Priscilla Solis Ybarra reflects on her experience watching Virginia Grise’s a farm for meme at home, during the pandemic, with her eighty-two-year-old mother whose life shares parallels with the story in the play.
Making Site-Specific Theatre About Climate Change that Could Be Threatened by Climate Change
17 December 2020
Playwright and environmentalist Alice Stanley Jr. shares her experience of Capital W’s newest immersive theatre piece, Fire Season—a play about climate change that took place in the Santa Monica Mountains during this year’s wildfires.
Dr. Ayshia E. Stephenson revisits the 2016 Signature Theatre production of The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World, which she believes stands as a testament to why Black theatre matters and is essential to resisting white supremacy.
